My first Cham!

[vinnnnnny]

I have done tons and tons of research expecting to buy a chameleon this weekend. Well, at the pet store today while purchasing supplies, I saw a Jackson that seemed relatively healthy for the terrible environment he was in. I felt so bad for him I wanted to give him a wonderful new home I had been working on. The only thing that seems to be wrong with him is that he has a black patch on his side, back left foot, and just under his chin (The associates at the store assured me this was some sort of birth defect... I didn't believe them). I had looked for other clues to a possible unhealthy cham, but to no avail this seemed like the only thing wrong (besides his head not fully shedding which seemed to be a humidity issue because at the store it was less than 40%) I had to save the little fella. Would any of you be able to tell me if this is some sort of fungi or bacteria growing on him? He was very active in the store as well as when I got him home, then he passed out from his busy day. I have him in the most perfect conditions for a jackson chameleon, however I feel this is something the vet may need to treat. Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

(I do not have the photo in any web site, if you could tell me how to upload it directly to this site, or email me, I will gladly send you the picture.)

Thank you for your help!

 

[melvbrooke]

You can add a photo from your computer by:

Pushing the button at the bottom of this page that says - " Post reply"

Scroll down to the bottom under addition options look for - " Managing attachments. "

Search for your photo- push upload button. SHould attach it but dont forget to hit the submit reply once you are done.

 

[vinnnnnny]

(The picture should be vertical) Thank you for the quick response! I saw someone had posted pictures of wild caught Jacksons that had similar discoloring... perhaps it could be a birthmark?

 

[Elizadolots]

He's very pretty. I suspect that's an injury, perhaps bruising. However, if he's moving about well, I see no reason he couldn't recover. Despite their apparent fragility, they are remarkably resilient.

I would definitely keep an eye on him and make sure you have a good vet lined up. You might want to schedule a "preliminary check up" visit anyway and the vet can look at that.

 

[vinnnnnny]

Good advice, better bruising than a life threatening fungus of some sort. I am new to this, so anything will make me scare easy. PetSmart has a 14 day guarantee as well as covering any vet payments if you go to them in those 14 days... Though I remember him having this same issue when I saw him a couple weeks back at their store.. I wouldn't want to stress him out by moving him around so much. He just left that awful place. Do you think I should take him sooner than later? Or wait till about day 10 to see if being in a great habitat is what he needed?

 

[ken2414]

yeah i wouldnt buy anything from petsmart, unless its an emergency and it can't wait. they are overpriced and undereducated. i havent been in one of those commercial pet shops in months, only for my dogs to buy them toys
Good luck, and I know petsmart charged you an arm and a leg for that chameleon, but you got a good looking specimen, besides the bruising :0

 

[vinnnnnny]

well like I said, I did a lot of research, and found out the prices for the supplies would be about that of amazon (including shipping) so I decided to just go through with it. they usually charge an arm and a leg I agree, I intended to buy my first at an exotic reptile convention in Raleigh, however call it fate, this little fella was marked down to just under $100 with tax (14 day guarantee included). I figured at the convention I would spend about $50-80 maybe more with no guarantee with potential for parasites and other problems because of so many reptiles being around. Gas to get there and back would also have been around $40, so I just decided to go with this guy... Which brings up a good point. What is a standard price on Jacksons? I saw many different numbers online, nothing really less than $70.

 

[ken2414]

well like I said, I did a lot of research, and found out the prices for the supplies would be about that of amazon (including shipping) so I decided to just go through with it. they usually charge an arm and a leg I agree, I intended to buy my first at an exotic reptile convention in Raleigh, however call it fate, this little fella was marked down to just under $100 with tax (14 day guarantee included). I figured at the convention I would spend about $50-80 maybe more with no guarantee with potential for parasites and other problems because of so many reptiles being around. Gas to get there and back would also have been around $40, so I just decided to go with this guy... Which brings up a good point. What is a standard price on Jacksons? I saw many different numbers online, nothing really less than $70.

yes, that is about right. ive seen some from private breeders, eg someones house, for like fifty, but there are differences between some and they thus cost more.

 

[vinnnnnny]

What can bruising be from?

 

[laurie]

The bruising could be from rough handling during shipping, a fall, or any number of other things. Sometimes even at home a cham can get a small bruise and you won't know why. The one on the side is a pretty good sized bruise but with time to should disappear. Nice looking cham you bought. Good job getting him out of a pet store before his health goes south. But it also encourages pet stores to keep chams. Hard to know what to do.

 

[vinnnnnny]

very true, I can see an employee being impatient and grabbing him by his side to get him from A to B, could explain the back foot as well. He was holding on and basically ripping his foot away from its hold could have hurt him. I guess they bruise easily then huh? I would suspect so because of the sensitive changing skin of theirs. As for PetSmart, I made sure they knew he was not in the right care. I just wanted to get him out of there. He was "the most active and playful male chameleon they've had yet." He needed a good home. I had no intentions on getting a jackson, but he is one cool little dude.

 

[Lingling]

He was "the most active and playful male chameleon they've had yet."

Hahaha.... playful chameleon. They'll tell you just about anything to make the sale, huh? I'm surprised they didn't tell you he was also the best at fetch and rolling over.

Nice looking jackson. Bruises can take forever to heal, but as long as he's moving around fine and eating, it's nothing that won't go away.

 

[vinnnnnny]

I consider "playful" active when it comes to chameleons. They were definitely trying to sell me but I knew what I was talking about which averted that situation. They figured out I was buying the guy because his environment was so crappy. Forever is a long time for a bruise to heal.. more literal terms, does the bruising go away in weeks, months, years? I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say months (when I refer to something taking forever, months is my reference point.)

Its good to know so many of you think he is a "healthy, good looking specimen." What sort of characteristics are you noticing that stand out (besides the obvious health related characteristics? I want to know as much as possible about these guys.

Lastly, at night, I turn off the uvb lamp, and leave on the 100 watt ceramic heat emitter. Mr. Chammy tends to sleep lower on the tree which is just fine. However my room never really goes below 70, and jacksons can handle temps to the mid 60's. Should/could I turn the heat off at night? or leave it on for him to regulate? I wouldn't ever want him to get cold.

Also (sorry) what is the closest chams can get to the uvb light without hurting themselves ie. their eyes...

AAAAaaand finally, how do you post a "profile" picture to your user name?